The Smurfs Christmas Carol
by Black Raider
Summary: Tis the season to be smurfy...unless you're Grouchy Smurf. After shutting out his family and fighting with his eldest sister, Grouchy gets a visit from three spirits to get his Christmas cheer back. He better hurry...or he'll lose more than just some holiday spirit.


**A/N: I feel this is mostly self-explanatory. But I wanted to put Archer in this mix to see how it would play out. A little late for Christmas, but I also have plans for _Smurfy Hollow _with Archer. Hope you like it!**

* * *

Snow fell from the sky in soft snowflakes. A thick blanket of it covered the ground and everything in the forest: the trees, the bushes, the rocks, and every single mushroom house in Smurf Village. Though the air chilled the Smurfs to the bone, it had no effect on the Christmas cheer in their hearts. The Smurfs that walked around outside simply bundled up and went about decorating their houses for the holiday. Papa Smurf, Smurfette, Brainy, Clumsy, Hefty, and Archer walked through the village, singing Christmas carols. Archer, however, sat confined to a sled that Hefty pulled behind him. An incident that involved being stuck in a blizzard overnight—with no proper gear to keep her warm—left Archer terribly sick. She didn't have much energy, but she still wanted to be outside with her family, especially when Smurfette mentioned singing carols. Although Papa preferred she stayed in bed, he allowed his tomboy Smurfette to at least ride around in a sled, buried under a couple warm blankets with gloves on her hands, a coat on her body, and her hat snug on her head. Archer wasn't initially happy with being confined to a sled, but she still sang happily, holding the carols book in her lap.

Papa Smurf led the way as they walked through the village, waving to the Smurfs still decorating their houses for the season. Vanity even hung mistletoe above his door, to which Smurfette responded with a quick kiss before hurrying to keep up with her family.

"_Smurf the halls with boughs of holly  
Fa la la la la, la la la la.  
Tis the season to be jolly  
Fa la la la la, la la la la.  
Don we now our white apparel  
Fa la la, la la la, la la la!  
Smurf the ancient yuletide carol  
Fa la la la la, la la…..la…"_

The reason the carolers trailed off was because when they reached Grouchy's house, they stared in surprise at the lack of decorations, making the house look quite dark and dismal. No wreath hung from the door and not a single light dangled from the roof.

"What in the blue blazes?" Hefty exclaimed. "Grouchy's house is as bare as a Smurfling's bottom!"

Papa gasped worriedly, setting his carol book down and running up to Grouchy's house. He immediately assumed the worst, thinking Grouchy was hurt or sick in some way. He knocked hurriedly on the door. "Grouchy. What's wrong?"

"Oh, you mean other than being bothered by carolers, who aren't even in tune by the way!" Grouchy's voice snapped from inside. Papa blinked in surprise. Okay, so Grouchy wasn't injured or ill, but his temper seemed to have flared.

Clumsy winced as he and the others approached. "Whew. What's gotten into him?"

"What do you mean?" Brainy asked. "He's always….uh, grouchy."

"Yeah, but not at the holidays." Clumsy protested.

"Yeah, you always decorate for the holidays." Hefty added as they circled around Grouchy's front door.

Grouchy emerged from his house with his usual frown (though it seemed deeper this evening), dressed in his nightgown, night cap, and slippers. He certainly didn't look ready to decorate the tree later that evening. "Uh, I hate decorations." Grouchy responded to Hefty's statement as though it were obvious. He moved around to gather some wood from the pile next to his house.

"Okay." Hefty shrugged. "But you're still coming to the big party tonight, right?"

"Everysmurf helps decorate the tree." Brainy said matter-of-factly.

"You call that puny twig a tree?" Grouchy laughed scornfully, pushing past Brainy. "Count me out!"

"But we always decorate as a family." Smurfette protested sweetly.

"Yeah, and you always put the star on top of the tree." Clumsy added.

"He's right, Grouchy." Papa said. "That very important task belongs to you."

Grouchy really _did _like putting the star on top of the tree; it was his favorite part of the holidays. But his anger trumped out his desire to do his favorite thing. "You know what? I hate tasks. I hate stars, mistletoe, candy cane stockings, and fruitcake!" He stepped back into his house, emphasizing every word. "I. Hate. Christmas!" He slammed his door shut, causing snow to fall from the roof and bury Brainy into a sort of makeshift snowsmurf.

"How can someone hate fruitcake?" Hefty asked, shocked. "It's delicious."

Archer huffed and pushed herself out of the sled. "Now, Archer." Papa warned. "I've told you—"

"I know, Papa." Archer assured, wrapping her coat tighter around her. "Just a second." She knocked on Grouchy's door. "Come on, Grouchy! It's the holiday! Can't you put aside your grouchiness for just one day? Or even for just tomorrow morning?"

"Go away." Grouchy droned.

"Come on, it'll be fun. And we're a family." Archer protested. "We're supposed to—" She jumped when Grouchy opened the door again, looking angrier this time.

"You know what else I hate?" Grouchy growled, stepping towards Archer and forcing her to step backwards. "I hate nosy little Smurfettes who talk like they know everything when really they don't! I hate Smurfs like you, who stick their noses in places they don't belong! You know what I want for Christmas this year? I want you, Archer Smurf, to leave me alone!"

Archer grunted as her foot caught the sled and she fell backwards into the snow. She stared after Grouchy as he stomped back into his house, slamming the door shut with more force. Everyone else only stared in shock, looking back and forth between Grouchy's door and a very hurt Archer Smurf. But Archer only climbed back into her sled without a word and tucked the blankets in around her.

"Oh Papa." Smurfette sighed. "You need to do something. It just won't be the same if we can't all celebrate together."

Papa thought for a moment when something clicked in his head. "I have an idea."

* * *

Papa scanned his shelves for a moment before finding exactly what he needed and returning to his bubbling cauldron. Brainy watched curiously. "A dash of nutmeg." Papa said, reciting the formula and tossing the ingredients in. "A touch of holly."

"What exactly _is _this potion, Papa?" Brainy asked.

"The Christmas Spirit." Papa replied. "Designed to show one the true meaning of the holiday." He lifted a vial. "And now, the final ingredient: essence of smurfberry." He allowed a little of the sparkling blue liquid to fall into the cauldron. Immediately afterwards, the potion began to glow and bubble furiously. Then, a glowing white-blue orb shot from the cauldron, much to Brainy's amazement. Papa laughed as the orb circled him and then sped up and out the chimney like a comet.

"You really think this'll work, Papa?" Brainy asked.

"It has to." Papa said. "It may be the only way for Grouchy to get a little spirit back into him."

As they talked, the ghostly orb moved about outside like a hyperactive chipmunk, searching every window and shooting past a few Smurfs to find its target. Soon, the orb discovered Grouchy's dismal home, and it flew off in that direction.

Inside, Grouchy played with a red and yellow striped toy hang glider, slumping in his chair. "_Fa la la la la, la la la…lame!"_ He sighed and set down his toy, taking up with smurfberry nog cup instead. "How do you smurf a hall anyway?" He growled. He caught sight of the flower in the small flowerpot next to his candle, an early Christmas gift Archer gave him a few days ago. He scoffed and turned away, still a little miffed at his sister. He took a sip of his smurfberry nog, but his nose wrinkled. "I hate warm smurfberry nog." He thought for a moment. "But I also hate being thirsty." He took another drink of the nog, but his nose still crinkled. He never noticed the blue orb coming right through his door like a ghost. He slumped back in his easy chair and touched his hang glider toy, his thoughts wandering. He looked up at the flower, and his frown lessened. _I wonder if I was just a bit too harsh on Archer. I mean, she didn't mean to irritate me. _Grouchy frowned again. _I still hate how nosy she is, though._

The orb, having its target in sight, tried to slip into Grouchy's nog cup. But Grouchy saw some of the light in the corner of his eye, and he spun around to check for an intruder. The orb, however, disappeared. Grouchy settled in his chair to drink his nog, but he felt a tap on his hand. He turned to look behind his chair, but saw no one. The orb, meanwhile, quietly slipped into his smurfberry nog and disappeared.

Unaware, Grouchy took another drink of his nog, looking around suspiciously. His first thoughts brought up Jokey and his Christmas pranks, but he just continued drinking. Two seconds later, his eyelids got heavy. "Suddenly….feel…sleep….." Grouchy dropped his nog cup…..and fell to the ground right after it.

* * *

Grouchy yawned a little and groaned, sitting upright. However, he immediately found his room gone completely dark. "Who turned out the lights?" he growled tiredly, reaching for the box of matches he kept on his table. He lit his candle, burning his finger a little in the process, and blinked in surprise when he noticed his hand. "Wow." He looked down and patted his stomach. "My stomach is looking flat!" _Maybe all that smurf ball is finally doing me some good. _But his attention became drawn to the fireplace as bits of wood and soot fell from the chimney. Grouchy cringed, feeling bit of fear crawl up his back. He knew for a fact it was far too late for Sweepy Smurf to be cleaning the chimneys. "What's up there?" Grouchy called, creeping towards the fireplace. "I-I got a blue belt in smurf fu a-and I'm not afraid to use it! Ha-hai!" He punched the inside of the chimney, but a cloud of soot and a gust of air made him tumble backwards and onto his tail.

"You _really _should sweep that thing once in a while." Someone coughed.

Grouchy groaned and rubbed his head, looking up. "Smurfette?"

"I'm the Smurf of Christmas Past." Smurfette said. "Don't you see my smurfy wings?" It was then Grouchy noticed the furry dress, snowflake wand, and fairy wings. Spirit Smurfette suddenly noticed the soot on her dress and magically converted her wand to a hand broom to dust it away.

"I shouldn't have had that second glass of smurfberry nog." Grouchy groaned, a little overwhelmed by it all. "Oh, go away." He growled. "You're just a figment of my indigestion."

"No." Spirit Smurfette said, dusting Grouchy off. "I'm one of three spirits that's going to visit you tonight. It seems like you've lost the true meaning of Christmas. So our job is to help you find it."

Grouchy groaned, pushing the spirit away. "I think I'll pass. Feel free to use the door on your way out."

Spirit Smurfette flew up beside him, her hand broom going back to a magic wand. "Oh, I'm not leaving until I take you on a magical journey back in time!" She flew about the room, spreading blue sparkles like pixie dust and glowing brightly. Grouchy winced as she tapped him with her wand, but when he opened his eyes his room looked the same.

"Hey, congratulations." Grouchy smirked with his arms crossed. "Nothing happened." He jumped when his alarm clock went off, and he spun around to his bed. _Is it morning already? _But before he could move, another blue arm shot out from his bed and the hand slammed down onto the clock. "What the smurf?" Grouchy breathed.

"Oh, I hate mornings." Another Grouchy groaned as he sat up. But his face brightened. "Except for Christmas morning!"

"Hey." Present Grouchy said, feeling himself. "It's me."

"It _is _you." Spirit Smurfette said. "But a you from long, long ago."

"Presents, here I come!" Past Grouchy cheered, quickly getting changed.

"Christmas was always the one time of year when you put your grouchiness aside." Spirit Smurfette reminded.

Grouchy watched as his past self started singing "Jingle Smurfs" while pulling on his favorite scarf. He groaned. "Past me is so annoying." He jumped when his past self suddenly went right through him.

"Weird, right?" Spirit Smurfette giggled.

_No duh. _Grouchy thought. _But, now I guess I don't have to worry about hiding. I hate hiding._

"Wait till you see this!" Spirit Smurfette waved her wand, and the bedroom changed to the snow-covered Smurf Village. Grouchy involuntarily blinked in wonder. "Neat, huh?" Spirit Smurfette giggled. They turned to look down into the village. Smurfs decorated the tree, rode around on sleds, made snow angels in the ground, threw snowballs, and decorated cookies. Past Clueless Smurf even licked an icicle, only for his tongue to get stuck. Another Smurf hung a bit of mistletoe on a lantern post, right above Past Smurfette's head. She giggled and gave him a kiss, causing the Smurf to walk away with a blissful look on his face. But when Past Smurfette turned to walk off, she found more Smurfs gathered in a line for a kiss.

Spirit Smurfette waved her wand, and now she and Grouchy stood right in the middle of it all. Grouchy started to smile. "Hey, I remember this." He sighed. _This is how Christmas was every year. Hanging out in the snow with the others, unwrapping presents given by Papa, having snowball fights until Papa called us inside for cocoa and to tell us stories. _Grouchy sighed happily. _Those were the good old days._

"And here you come now." Spirit Smurfette said, pointing as Past Grouchy hurried over the bridge.

Past Grouchy replied "Merry Christmas" to all the Smurfs that greeted him, but he had his eyes set on his mushroom stool at the far end of the area. "The sooner I get to my chair, the sooner I get to open my present." Past Grouchy chuckled. He darted for his chair, but kept stopping because Smurfs stepped in his way. They called "Merry Christmas, Grouchy", and he responded with a half-cheery "Merry Christmas" back, but soon after started running off to his chair. But when a snowball hit his head, he couldn't help but try and throw one back. Unfortunately, he got pelted so many times he became covered in snow.

Past Vanity skipped by with a bowl of vegetables for Past Chef to bake into dinner, but paused when he saw an unfinished snowsmurf. He took the carrot he had and stuck it in the snowsmurf's face, nodding in satisfaction. He skipped away, unaware that Past Grouchy shook all the snow off him and spit out the carrot in his mouth. Past Grouchy moved off to his chair, but Past Brainy suddenly grabbed his arm and pulled him out to dance with the other Smurfs. Spirit Smurfette and Grouchy watched, the latter unamused while the former giggled. Past Grouchy tried to get to his seat (and encourage everyone else to do the same) but Past Hefty suddenly grabbed his arm and spun him around like a top, causing Past Grouchy to spin uncontrollably.

Spirit Smurfette sang and danced around, smiling. "Come on, let's dance."

Grouchy kept his arms crossed and his face in a frown. "I hate dancing."

Spirit Smurfette smirked. "Really? That's not what it looks like to me." Grouchy followed her point to see his past self stop twirling and suddenly start moving, whooping and laughing with the other Smurfs. Grouchy watched a little fondly, remembering how much fun Christmas used to be for him. All the dancing and the merriment and the fun. It was the one time of year that he could count on for having a good time. Whatever happened to it all?

_Oh yeah. _Grouchy inwardly sighed. _The same thing that happened every year._

"Gather around, Smurfs!" Past Papa called, laughing at his little Smurfs' delight. "Gather round, everyone!" The Smurfs hurriedly ran from the dance floor and to their seats, watching Past Grouchy amusedly as he kept dancing. "Hurry up, Grouchy!" Past Papa laughed. "It's time to open your presents!" Past Grouchy finally stopped dancing and sprinted over to his seat, laughing and smiling broadly.

"Whoa." Grouchy breathed. "This _was _a long time ago."

"Please let me get it." Past Grouchy prayed. "Please let me get it. Please let me get it."

"Get what?" Past Flier Smurf asked.

"What I asked for for Christmas." Past Grouchy said, pulling out a drawing. "A hang glider."

"Whoa!" Past Flier gasped at the picture of Grouchy in the hang glider, high in the skies. "It's like a giant paper airplane you can fly in!"

"I know." Past Grouchy sighed blissfully. "It's gonna be the smurf." He tucked the picture away as Past Papa came by, smiling in anticipation. Past Papa greeted Past Grouchy with a warm "Merry Christmas" and handed him his present before moving on to the other Smurfs. However, as Past Grouchy stared at the green box with the red ribbon, it looked much too small to be what he thought. "Hmm….it's not very big…" _How am I supposed to fly in a tiny hang glider?_

"All right, open them up!" Past Papa called. The Smurfs all tore the lids off the boxes and gasped in awe at the contents.

"A new hat!" Past Handy cheered.

"A new hat!" Past Greedy echoed.

"A new hat!" Past Passive-Aggressive said.

"A new hat!" Past Brainy smiled.

"A new hat!" Past Clumsy laughed.

Past Grouchy looked around as more Smurfs cheered "A new hat!" and finally opened his box. He begrudgingly pulled out… "A new hat." He droned with a small frown. "Again."

Grouchy looked on sadly. "All I ever wanted was that hang glider. Every year I asked Papa for it, but…..did he ever come through?"

"Let's find out." Spirit Smurfette pulled up her wand and magically pulled down a calendar. She flipped through it, through many Christmases that followed that one, and each time Grouchy only saw his past self receiving a new hat for a present. "And then a few years later." Spirit Smurfette noted, mostly to herself. "And every year after that. Oh, wait! I love this year!"

Grouchy looked, but he only saw the Smurfs gathered around the tree and receiving their new hats again. "What's so great about this year?"

"Keep watching." Spirit Smurfette said.

Grouchy sighed, but continued to watch the little scene play. He blinked in surprise when the Past Papa in the scene called the Past Archer forth, presenting his newest daughter with her own Christmas gift. Past Archer opened the box and pulled out the arrowhead-covered hat she wore to this day. Her eyes sparkled and she hugged Past Papa tightly. "Oh yeah." Grouchy realized. "That was the year Archer got her first Christmas present from Papa."

"It was the day every Smurf in the village fully accepted her into their family." Spirit Smurfette said. "Including you."

Grouchy watched as his past self actually came forward to join in the group hug with Past Archer in the middle. "It was the day…..she became one of us. The day she fully gave up life in the forest for a life with us." He shook his head. "Hey, if this is because I shouted at her earlier, forget about it. She shouldn't have been sticking her nose where it didn't belong. Besides, Archer and I argue all the time. It's nothing." He pointed to the scene. "This is nothing. Show me something else."

"Well, there was always what happened last year." Spirit Smurfette said, waving her wand to change the scene.

Grouchy's eyes widened. "Oh smurf, spare me that." But he was forced to watch anyway.

Past Grouchy sat, his arms crossed and waiting for his new hat he got for the hundredth year in a row. Then, Past Jokey approached with a large box in his arms. "Hey, look! Papa asked me to give this to you! Look!"

Past Grouchy looked down and his eyes brightened up at the sight of the box's shape. "Finally!" He opened it hurriedly and looked inside…..only to have the contents explode in his face.

Past Jokey laughed, hugging his sides. "Kidding! Here's your real gift!" He handed Past Grouchy his new hat. "Whoa! A new hat!" He sounded significantly happy, but when Past Grouchy saw the bit of white cloth in his clenched fist, he snarled and stomped off, wiping soot from his face. The other Smurfs stared after him, some of them shrugging.

"Isn't Christmas about getting what you want?" Past Grouchy growled, kicking snow and stomping across the bridge to go home. "Well I want a hang glider. Why do I even bother to celebrate Christmas if all I ever get is this?" He showed his hat to a nearby snowsmurf. "The same, old, boring, useless hat! I mean, how many hats does a Smurf need?" In response, the snowsmurf's head fell off and to the ground. "Oh, who asked you?" Past Grouchy snapped. "I. Hate. HATS!" He threw the hat to the ground and marched off, kicking snow. He didn't look back, therefore not noticing Past Papa gingerly pick up his discarded hat and stare sadly after him, obviously hurt.

Grouchy and Spirit Smurfette watched as Past Grouchy stomped off, wiping away angry tears and muttering bitterly under his breath. Spirit Smurfette gasped softly. "And _that's _why you decided to hate Christmas?"

"Why get your hopes up?" Grouchy sighed sadly. "If all you get is disappointed."

"What's there to be disappointed about when you're surrounded by such a smurfy family?" Spirit Smurfette asked, pointing to the happy Smurfs at the Christmas tree.

"Ha." Grouchy scoffed, turning away. "More like an annoying family. I could have used that hang glider to fly away for some peace and quiet."

Spirit Smurfette smiled. "Well, if you wanted to fly, then let's go. You've got somewhere to be." She flew up and lifted Grouchy by the back of his nightshirt, despite his protests. "Man! You are heavier than you look!" Spirit Smurfette groaned and laughed. Grouchy yelped as he dodged chimneys, went through smoke, and got tangled in Christmas lights.

"Whoa!" Grouchy shouted. "Watch it!" He clambered onto Spirit Smurfette's head as she made a sharp turn upwards to avoid a tree trunk. She fought to keep a grip on him and still get him off her face as they flew higher and higher, tree branches smacking Grouchy's back and tail and going right through a small bird's nest. Spirit Smurfette laughed and giggled while Grouchy just yelped and shouted. He flinched when a flock of birds rushed by.

Spirit Smurfette looked down when the birds passed and noticed she was missing something. "Oh." She looked down at Grouchy as he fell. "Oops."

Grouchy shouted in terror. "I hate falling!"

* * *

Grouchy grunted as he landed right in a snowsmurf. He pushed himself upright, the head of the snowsmurf stuck over his skull and mimicking his signature frown. _I never want to smurf that again. _He groaned.

"Nice of you to drop in."

Grouchy shook the snow off his head and stared. "Brainy?" It certainly looked like Brainy, glasses and all. Except now he wore a green robe with a fluffy white trim and a wreath with candles, like a glowing crown, rested over the top of his hat.

"I'm afraid you are incorrect, in your assumption." Spirit Brainy corrected. "For I am the Smurf of Christmas Present."

"Then where are the presents?" a very bitter and very cold Grouchy grumbled.

Spirit Brainy helped him to his feet. "I'm here to show you how your hatred of Christmas is going to affect the whole village." He gestured to the scene before them, and Grouchy saw the circle of mushroom stools, the lights hanging around the lantern posts, the roaring fire, and the large Christmas tree. Smurfs decorated the tree and hung stockings. It looked exactly the way Grouchy saw it outside his window. He even spotted Archer and Gutsy off to the side, exchanging a soft kiss under the mistletoe. Grouchy turned and grimaced, sticking his tongue out. Then, Spirit Brainy's words caught up with him.

"What are you talking about?" Grouchy demanded. "Every Christmas I would just put up a couple of decorations. And Papa would make me put a star on top of the tree." Even when he frowned and glared, it was clear in Grouchy's eyes: he loved having that tradition.

"Every action, no matter how small, has a reaction." Spirit Brainy said. He took a candle from his hat and gestured before them. "Behold!" Grouchy turned and noticed Chef running up to the tree, carrying a box of decorations. Spirit Brainy came up and the scene suddenly froze. "Because you decided not to help decorate the tree, Chef had to step in and help with the ornaments instead of baking his traditional gingersmurf cookies," He swirled his candle and a picture of a plate and cookies appeared. Spirit Brainy waved the candle again, sending up a long, large, complicated math equation mixed with Christmas symbols. "which had an exponential effect on the rate of Christmas cheer per Smurf that when multiplied by the square root of total chaos to the…" He looked to Grouchy, noticing the dumb and almost drooling look. Spirit Brainy sighed. "Grouchy, why do I bother? Just watch." He stuck the candle back into his wreath crown and jerked his thumb back to the scene.

The glowing writing disappeared and Chef rewound backwards a ways before he came back running. "Attention! I have more Christmas decorations! Whoa!" He suddenly slipped on a patch of ice and the box flew forward, sliding across the ground and hitting another box next to Clumsy and Smurfette.

Clumsy peered inside and his eyes lit up. "Oh, the star for the top of the tree!" He held up said star, its golden color emphasized by the firelight. "Oh, but Grouchy isn't here. Hey…..hey I'll take care of it!" Clumsy ran towards the tree, excited to help.

"No Clumsy!" Weakling called. He and a number of other Smurfs tried to stop their klutzy brother, but it was too late. Clumsy's foot caught a box of decorations and he hit the ground, the star flying from his hand. The Smurfs watched, shocked and surprised as the star hit one of the lights and the entire string of them started popping like popcorn kernels. When the last one popped out, the wreath it sat next to jumped off the lantern post and rolled off to hit the fireplace at the edge of the circle. The stockings fell from their hooks and right on the edge of the fire. Unfortunately, by some stroke of bad luck, a spark hit the wool stockings and they burst into flames.

"The stockings!" Vanity and Hefty cried.

It didn't stop there; the wreath rolled right under a ladder and knocked it down, which in turn knocked down the Christmas tree and almost crushed Archer before Gutsy could push her and the sled out of the way. Smurfs scattered and yelped as the tree tumbled past, hitting the fireplace and the stockings and snuffing out the flames.

Clumsy stared at the mess he caused. He laughed sheepishly. "Well, at least the fire's out." His response: a deadpan look from many of his brothers.

And then, the tree burst into flames!

"Out of the way, Smurfs!" Handy shouted as he ran in with a bucket of water. He and a couple other Smurfs threw buckets of water onto the burning tree until, in a burst of smoke, the fire died out. The Smurfs came forward, surrounding what was left of the now-blackened Christmas tree. But there was no berating of Clumsy or shouting or crying. Instead, everyone just stared sadly.

Smurfette sighed. "This wouldn't have happened if Grouchy were here." Nobody could disagree, especially not out loud.

Archer took a breath, coughing a little. "Come on, Smurfs. Let's clean this up before Papa sees. Maybe we can smurf up what's left of the decorations." The Smurfs nodded aimlessly, still a little in shock from such a turn of events.

Grouchy stared too. He never expected something like this to happen. Spirit Brainy smiled knowingly. "Every Smurf plays an important part, you see?"

Grouchy sighed. _I sincerely hope that's sarcasm for his sake. _"Yeah. I see."

Spirit Brainy rolled his eyes, sensing Grouchy's slightly snarky tone. "Not yet you don't." He suddenly pulled Grouchy's nightcap over the grump's eyes, fully blinding him in darkness. Grouchy growled and pushed his hat back in its proper place, ready to snap at the spirit. But when his vision focused, he saw not the outside Christmas area but the inside of a mushroom house. All around, Smurfs hats rested on tables and crowded the room. There must've been at least a hundred, one for every Smurf in the village. Upon hearing a familiar, soft baritone, Grouchy turned to see Papa lovingly tending to a couple of the many hats.

"There we are." He nodded in satisfaction. "Now it's just the way Greedy likes it: with a little pocket inside to keep extra smurfberries." He looked to a new hat, this one with pins stuck on the top. "And Tailor will be delighted with the extra-large, built-in pincushion."

Spirit Brainy watched with a soft smile at the Smurf father's tender care over the cloth hats. Being a spirit, he would've known all along that Papa made each and every hat in that room. Grouchy, on the other hand, looked shocked. "Papa makes all of our hats himself?"

"And crafts each one to meet the particular needs of every Smurf." Spirit Brainy added. "Takes him all year."

Grouchy looked around. 100 hats. Papa Smurf makes one hundred hats every year for the Smurfs' Christmas presents. It explains why Papa sometimes stayed up late at night and why he seemed to shut himself inside his house more often during Christmastime. It explains why Tailor always denied it when Grouchy asked if_ he _made the hats every year. It explains why Papa came to breakfast once in a while holding a bit of gauze to his bleeding fingers. It's because Papa, in a simple act of love, put his heart and soul into every stitch and made sure each little hat fit its owner to the T. Grouchy came forward, mesmerized by it all. He knew Papa worked hard (he runs an entire village for Smurf's sake) but he really went to all that trouble just for some hats?

"Grouchy." Papa sighed, staring at a lone hat on the small table beside him. He took the hat off its stand, rubbing the cloth fondly. "I've made a hat I know you'll love, if only you'd give it a chance." He sighed and forced a small smile. "Well, maybe this year." He tossed the hat into the air and let it drift down back to its stand.

Grouchy stared sadly. He never knew just how much work Papa put into making those silly (or perhaps not-so-silly) hats. He never even knew Papa made them. He always thought Tailor made them or maybe Papa made one and put some sort of replication spell on it. But now, after seeing just how hard Papa worked to make him and the other Smurfs happy at Christmas, Grouchy felt his chest constrict. He never intended to hurt Papa by refusing the gift. He just…he was just being selfish because he wanted to avoid his family. Which meant he wanted to avoid his father, who tried so hard to show that he truly loved his grumpy son, despite his temper.

"Papa." Grouchy whispered guiltily, stepping towards the elder Smurf. "I didn't know." But Papa turned and walked off to another hat, checking it for any imperfections. Grouchy looked down, feeling even more guilty.

"He can't hear you." Spirit Brainy said, as if the fact would lighten the ache in Grouchy's heart. "It's time to go." He reached up, took a candle from the wreath on his head, and prepared to blow it out.

"Papa Smurf! Papa Smurf!"

Papa, Spirit Brainy, and Grouchy all jumped when Clumsy's voice echoed from outside. Papa hurried out to greet him and shut the door to hide the hats. "What is it?" Papa's voice asked from outside.

"It's Archer!" Clumsy panted. "She needs help!"

"Archer?" Grouchy asked. "Hey, wait!" He smacked the candle from Spirit Brainy's hand and darted after Papa.

"Hey!" Spirit Brainy yelped as he caught the candle. "I only got so many of these!"

Grouchy paid no mind as he pushed through the door (literally) and ran after Papa and Clumsy. Clumsy led Papa to the remains of the charred Christmas tree, where many of the Smurfs had been trying to clean up. But now, they circled around something near the burned-out tree. Papa pushed his way through the Smurfs, Grouchy close behind. But when Grouchy reached the middle of the circle of Smurfs, he gasped softly. His eyes befell upon Archer, lying limply in the snow and shivering violently. Her eyes were wild as she gasped and coughed, squeezing Gutsy's hand as he knelt beside her. Papa put his hand to Archer's forehead, but his frown only deepened and his eyes overflowed with worry. Gutsy refused to leave Archer's side, even when Papa gently gathered her in his arms and ran off to his lab. The Smurfs followed a little slowly, but Grouchy ran ahead to keep up with Papa and Gutsy. He followed Papa, Archer, and Gutsy up into the bedroom above the lab and watched, fearfully, as Papa lay Archer on the bed. Gutsy pulled up a chair and sat beside Archer's head, gently brushing some stray strands of hair from her face. Grouchy noticed how pale she looked and how she perspired a little, yet she continued to shiver. Papa ran downstairs and returned with his medical bag, sitting on the other side of the bed to check Archer's vitals and mentally recording her symptoms.

"What's wrong with her?" Gutsy asked worriedly.

Papa continued through the checkup, a frown still on his face. "Smurfmonia, by the looks of it. Archer, I thought I told you not to overexert yourself."

"I didn't think I was." Archer protested, her voice coming out weak and raspy. "I smurfed in the sled most of the time. But some of the Smurfs needed help cleaning up, so I just stood up for a few minutes to pick up broken decorations. Then my legs sort of collapsed underneath me." She coughed again, shivering. "I'll…be fine…I just…" She coughed again, harsher this time.

"Archer, don't." Papa pleaded, pulling the blankets farther over Archer's body. "You _cannot _smurf out of this bed."

"Can't ye help her?" Gutsy asked worriedly.

"Perhaps." Papa said. He grabbed another quilt and laid it over Archer, trying to warm her up. "It'll take more than smurfroot tea to help, though."

"But, you _can _cure her, right?" Grouchy asked, forgetting he was nothing more than a ghost.

Gutsy repeated the same question. "But, ye _can _cure her, right?"

"I'll need a special flower." Papa explained, placing a warm, wet cloth over Archer's forehead. "Called a fire lily. I can smurf a tea out of it and it'll take care of Archer's smurfmonia. But it's a rare flower that only blooms in the summer; I don't know if I have any."

"Den I'll go out and look fer some." Gutsy offered.

"I'll go too." Archer rasped, struggling to push herself up.

"No!" Papa panicked, hurriedly pushing Archer back down. "Archer, you can't leave this bed. Your heart rate must remain calm and slow."

"I can't just sit here." Archer complained.

"Archer, if your heart rate smurfs too high…." Papa swallowed. "You'll have a heart attack and you will die."

Archer and Gutsy stared, not truly able to process the information. "Papa…." Gutsy breathed. "Ye can't be serious."

Papa gently tucked Archer under the blankets. "Stay here and stay warm. You'll be fine; but you have to do what I say. Do you understand?"

Archer sighed. "Yes, Papa Smurf."

Papa nodded in satisfaction, softly kissing his daughter's head. He walked off to the door, but Gutsy followed. Grouchy stayed close by his brother and father as they stood outside the closed door, talking softly so Archer wouldn't hear. "Papa, ye _can _help her, right?" Gutsy asked.

"I'll do what I can." Papa admitted. "But without that fire lily, we're going to have to smurf a way for Archer to survive until the summer."

Gutsy swallowed, as though trying to push down a lump in his throat. "Okay." He moved back inside the room and shut the door. Grouchy watched, a little horrified, as Papa journeyed back downstairs, muttering incoherent words with a sad and worried look on his face. Grouchy moved through the door to the bedroom, staring sadly as Gutsy sat down in the chair once more. He rubbed his knuckles against Archer's cheek as she slept, sighing sadly. "Yer gonna be okay, lass." Gutsy whispered lovingly. "I promise."

Grouchy swallowed the lump in his throat. He turned at a presence and saw Spirit Brainy beside him. "Brainy? Archer's going to be okay, right?"

"That's the future." Spirit Brainy said. "My realm is the present. However, I do smurf a bow without and owner…and a sorrowful Smurf without a mate."

Grouchy's eyes widened as he turned to Archer and Gutsy. "No…."

"If these visions remain unchanged," Spirit Brainy warned. "I'm afraid Archer will not live to see Christmas morning."

"You mean, she's gonna die? Tonight?" Grouchy gasped, approaching the bed. "No. No, Archer can't die! She's our guardian; she protects the village! And what about Gutsy? The day Archer married him was the happiest I ever saw him. She can't die. The last thing I ever said to her….oh smurf, I basically told her I hated her. Those can't be my last words to her." He came to the side of the bed and put a hand on Archer's shoulder, not even noticing that he could actually touch her. "She's my sister. I…." He gulped, holding back tears. He took her free hand in his, giving it a squeeze. "I…..don't hate _her_….."

Spirit Brainy approached Grouchy and stared sadly at Archer. "It's time to go, Grouchy." He took the candle from his wreath once more and blew it out.

* * *

When Grouchy opened his eyes, Spirit Brainy, Archer, Gutsy, and the bedroom disappeared, leaving him in a snowy, windy environment. "Hey, Brainy?" Grouchy called. "Where did you go?" He turned and walked in one direction, hoping he'd run into somesmurf. Unfortunately, he did. He hit something hard and fell back into the snow. When he looked up, he jumped at the sight of a clocked figure. It spoke to him in a deep and muffled voice Grouchy couldn't understand, pointing at him with a blue hand. "Brainy? I-is that you?"

But the figure shed his hood to reveal Hefty's face; his long sleeves fell back to show off his heart-and-arrow tattoo. "Sorry bro. Just finishing up the holiday fruitcake." He popped the last bit in his hand into his mouth and swallowed. He crossed his arms with a smirk. "But I already know your feelings on that."

"Hefty?" Grouchy asked.

"No! Not 'Hefty' ya lump of coal." Spirit Hefty said. "I am the Smurf of Christmas Future. And the future is….." He snapped his fingers, causing the scenery to change into the Smurf Village. "….now."

Grouchy looked around. The village was still covered in snow and the burned-out tree still remained where it fell. Snow softly fell from the sky and settled on the ground and houses. But, strangely enough, the village was quiet and almost spooky. Even the trees looked like they came directly from Smurfy Hollow.

"This?" Grouchy asked, peering through a mushroom window. But nosmurf seemed to be home; the house was dark and dreary. "This is the future?"

"In a matter of speaking." Spirit Hefty said as he walked towards the dining hall. Grouchy jogged after him. "It's tomorrow. It's Christmas Day."

Grouchy stopped suddenly. "Christmas Day? Then, where is everyone?" The mushroom stools were broken and the fireplace was cold. What was left of the decorations lay in scattered and broken bits. The decorations still up looked utterly pathetic. Surely this couldn't be Christmas Day? Christmas Day was a joyful and fun time in Smurf Village. A time when all the Smurfs would romp and play in the snow during the day and then gathered in the dining hall for cocoa and Papa's stories. This….this was too quiet to be Christmas Day.

"They all left this morning." Spirit Hefty replied to Grouchy's question. Grouchy hurriedly followed the spirit to the dining hall window. "They wanted to do something to help you get your Christmas spirit back." As Spirit Hefty and Grouchy looked in the window at the empty and cluttered dining hall, voices of the Smurfs echoed in the cold air.

"_I know what would make Grouchy happy!" _Clumsy's voice said. _"How about we all go get a new tree in the morning? One of the huge smurfy ones from the West Forest! That would cheer him up!"_

"_That's a great idea!" _Handy's voice agreed, along with many other Smurf's voices.

"_For Grouchy!"_ Brainy voiced.

"_Let's do it for Grouchy." _Farmer's voice echoed.

"_That will make _everyone_ happy!"_ Smurfette's voice laughed.

Grouchy stared as the voices echoed to nothing. "And….what happened?"

"They never came back." Spirit Hefty said.

"Never came back?" Grouchy asked, staring at the Spirit Smurf. "W-what do you mean?" He looked down, and then it hit him. "The West Forest…..." He ran off, Spirit Hefty following casually. Grouchy pushed through dead grass and jumped over gnarled tree roots as he ran, scanning the gray trees and white snow for his blue family. "Smurfette!" he called. "Brainy! Clums—OW!" He grunted as he hit a tree root and slid to the ground.

Spirit Hefty easily leaped over the root. "Need to do more cardio, bro."

Grouchy groaned and pushed himself to his feet. He noticed a green Smurf scarf on a bush branch, and his pain instantly left him. He noticed something else in the snow, and he walked up to retrieve a pair of round, black spectacles. "Brainy wouldn't go anywhere without these." He reached down to grab them, but when he looked up he paused and gasped softly. All around the clearing were scarves, Smurf hats, axes, and lengths of rope. A large tree had been felled, at more rope was wrapped around it to prepare the fern for transportation. But there were no Smurfs to pull it back to the village. Grouchy slowly walked up to a fallen Smurf hat with a poinsettia in it. He lifted it and held the cloth and flower close to his cheek. He could smell the perfume Vanity always wore: pine needles with a hint of some kind of flower.

"Where are they?" Grouchy whispered. He looked up to Spirit Hefty, currently standing on the stump of the fallen tree. The spirit turned and pointed without a word. Grouchy climbed onto the stump and followed Hefty's point….straight to Gargamel's hovel. "No!" Grouchy gasped, jumping back. But his back hit something wooden and he stumbled forward. A fire suddenly lit up in the fireplace beside him, right under a large cauldron. Grouchy looked around, panicked, when he was met with the sight of… "Gargamel's lair." Grouchy gasped. "It can't be…"

"It can, actually." Spirit Hefty said. Grouchy spun around and saw the spirit sitting on a bookshelf, reading a book casually as though not aware of the dangerous situation.

"What about the others?" Grouchy asked. "I thought you were going to take me to the others." He jumped when Spirit Hefty suddenly appeared behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Oh, I have." Spirit Hefty said, waving a hand towards the cages above their heads. Grouchy watched, horrified, as his family appeared in each and every cage, looking dismal and sad despite most still dressed for the holiday.

"Oh no….." Grouchy moaned. "All of them. They were all captured….trying to make me happy."

"When Papa came looking for them," Spirit Hefty said, gesturing to a cage closer to them. "Gargamel got him too."

Grouchy stared at the sorry sight of his father in one of the cages. Papa sighed sadly, his head hung. He fingered something in his hands that Grouchy couldn't make out; but it looked slender and black. "Papa….." Grouchy stepped forward, but his bare foot hit something cold and he jumped back. When he looked down, his eyes widened. "Archer!" He knelt down at Archer's side, shaking her. "Archer! Archer, wake up!"

"She can't." Spirit Hefty said.

Grouchy stopped shaking Archer. He lifted her head into his lap and stared at her still face. His heart nearly stopped when he felt her icy skin and lack of heartbeat or breathing. "But…that means….oh no…" He fought tears, holding Archer close. "How did it happen?"

"You know how Archer is." Spirit Hefty said. "Papa came looking for the Smurfs and told Archer to stay put; she followed him instead. When Gargamel came after Papa, Archer jumped in to help." As Spirit Hefty spoke, Grouchy noticed ghostly images of Gargamel, Azrael, Papa, and Archer running about the hovel. Archer fired arrows at Gargamel and Azrael, but her breathing came out labored and she couldn't fully pull back her bowstring. Grouchy watched, keeping back his tears with all his strength, as the ghostly image of Archer suddenly gasped, clutched her chest, and fell to the ground. The ghostly Papa image rushed to her side, desperately pressing against her chest to restart her heart. But the ghostly Gargamel snatched ghostly Papa up and shoved him into a cage. The ghostly Azrael slunk to Archer, but the ghostly Gargamel picked him up by the scruff of his neck.

"_Leave her, Azrael!" _ghostly Gargamel ordered, walking back to his room. _"She is a message to all those Smurfs for trying to escape the inevitable!"_

Grouchy could only hold his horrified stare, hugging Archer's lifeless body closer to him. The ghostly Archer gasped and twitched, still clutching her chest. After a moment, she stopped breathing and she fell limp. Ghostly Papa screamed for Archer and rattled the bars of his cage. Soon, the sounds of Papa's screams echoed into nothing as the ghostly figures faded into the present state of the room.

"Archer fought hard." Spirit Hefty said. "But the smurfmonia was too strong. It took her life before she could save the Smurfs."

Grouchy shook his head in disbelief, setting Archer down gently and standing slowly. "She's really gone?"

"She died fighting to save the Smurfs." Spirit Hefty confirmed.

Grouchy sighed, the weight of the news hitting him hard. He averted his eyes from Archer's still body. "I've been so selfish."

"Well, on the bright side, looks like you'll all get to spend one last Christmas together after all." Spirit Hefty crossed his arms and disappeared, leaving Grouchy all alone.

But not for long.

"Merry Christmas…" a creepy voice said as a shadow passed over Grouchy. "…..to me!"

Grouchy spun around to see Gargamel approaching with a net. "Hefty!" Grouchy called. "Hefty!" But the spirit didn't return, and Grouchy jumped away before Gargamel could capture him. He ran over to the fireplace as Gargamel untangled his net from his foot. Grouchy jumped up to grab the edge of a pail of coal and knocked it over. When Gargamel charged, he slipped on the coal and fell flat on his back. Grouchy took off, but suddenly found his path blocked by Azrael. The cat unsheathed his claws and prowled closer, forcing Grouchy to step back.

"I see you've met Santa Claws!" Gargamel laughed. He and Azrael lunged for Grouchy, but the Smurf jumped up to the bookshelf just in time. He scrambled up the bookshelf, dropping books onto Azrael when the cat followed him. He kept climbing, throwing things at Azrael before finally jumping on a bag and releasing blue powder into the cat's face, turning his head into garlic. Azrael looked stunned and confused for a moment, but kept coming, and Grouchy shouted and screamed as he ran. He jumped and grabbed a rag, swinging across while Azrael fell to the ground. The books beside Grouchy moved to reveal Gargamel's cackling face, but Grouchy slammed the books onto the wizard's nose and jumped to the very top shelf. Gargamel swung his hand wildly, attempting to snatch the Smurf.

"You're going to look great on top of my tree…..eeeeeeeeaaaahhhhhh!" Gargamel screamed as the bookshelf tumbled to the ground with him still on it.

Grouchy laughed, but jumped when Azrael returned, his head going back to normal. "Help!" Grouchy shouted to no one in particular as he ran away. Azrael tried to run after him, but the movement caused the rickety old bookshelf to wiggle and shift like an earthquake, forcing Azrael off the edge and to the floor once again. Grouchy managed to stop right before he could run off the edge and into the bubbling cauldron, but when he turned and ran back up the now-slanting shelf, he had to dodge random objects before they could sweep him away. Even then, the incline only got steeper and steeper until Grouchy just couldn't keep up. He barely reached the edge when he noticed Spirit Hefty on one of the cages.

The cages.

The Smurfs captured and to be succumbed to whatever tortures Gargamel had in mind.

Poor Papa Smurf, unable to do anything to help and forced to watch his children suffer.

Archer….Archer Smurf…who gave her life trying to help her family.

Who died thinking Grouchy hated her.

Who only came after the Smurfs because they tried to make Grouchy happy.

_None of this would've happened if it weren't for me! _Grouchy almost screamed.

"No! It can't end like this!" Grouchy pleaded as gravity dragged him down into the bubbling cauldron. He desperately clawed at the wood shelf, but his grip slipped. "I can change!"

His vision went black.

* * *

"I can change…." Grouchy murmured, flailing a little. "I can change….I can change…" He groaned as he opened his eyes. "Where am I?" He rubbed his eye and looked around. He gasped when he saw his easy chair, his fireplace, his smurfberry nog cup, everything just as he left in his home. "I'm back, and I'm alive!" He stood up hurriedly, looking outside as the rays of dawn hardly peeked over the horizon. "It's not Christmas morning yet!" He sighed in relief. He checked his clock and smiled broadly. "There's still time to set things right!" He grabbed his toy hang glider and ran to his door. But he skidded to a halt, his eyes wide. He turned and noticed the flowerpot on his table, right behind his alarm clock. Growing from the pot…

"The fire lily." Grouchy breathed. He almost forgot about the early Christmas present from Archer herself. Without hesitating, Grouchy pulled the flower from the pot and rushed upstairs to change. When he was ready, he ran outside to do what he knew was needed. But first, he ran to Papa's laboratory and nailed the flower to the door by the stem.

Papa jumped when the banging jolted him awake. He stood from his desk and rubbed his eyes, yawning. He spent almost the entire night working on something to help Archer with her smurfmonia, but nothing seemed to improve the situation. Papa became worried he would only make things worse. Gutsy ran into the forest to find a fire lily, but came back empty-handed. Meanwhile, Archer grew weaker and weaker by the hour, so weak she couldn't eat or drink anything. Papa was about to completely lose faith in Archer surviving when he opened his door and found the flower on his door. He looked all around, but he couldn't see the person or Smurf who put the flower on his door. But Papa pushed the thought aside for now and yanked the flower free. He rushed inside and put the still-warm kettle back over the fire to boil the water. He crushed the petals of the fire lily in a small bowl and set it aside to mix another potion. When the kettle whistled, Papa poured the hot water into the bowl with the crushed fire lily and mixed it until the water turned a warm orange color. Papa added the potion he mixed and hurriedly jogged upstairs, careful to not spill any of the tea/potion mixture. He pushed the door to his bedroom open, making Gutsy look up. Archer lay comatose in the bed, looking so pale she was almost white.

The Scotsmurf rubbed his sleepy eyes. "Papa?"

"I have the tea." Papa announced.

Instantly, Gutsy was wide-awake. "Really?"

"Somesmurf put a fire lily on my door." Papa explained, pulling up a chair on the other side of Archer. "I've made the tea and added a potion to give her energy." Gutsy lifted Archer's head and gently opened her mouth enough for Papa to slowly spill the tea into her mouth. The boys smiled when they saw Archer swallowing, indicating that she still had the strength and consciousness to do so. After drinking about half the bowl, Archer's eyes slowly blinked open. She tried to speak, but Papa stopped her. "Keep drinking, Archer." Papa instructed. "The entire bowl." Archer opened her mouth a little wider and drank the liquid, relieved by the warmth in her chest and stomach. She became so warm she had to push the extra blanket off her.

"How do ye feel, lass?" Gutsy asked hopefully.

Archer sighed happily. "Smurfy as ever."

Papa felt Archer's forehead, pulling up his medical tools to check her vitals. He smiled in relief when the color started returning to her face. "It looks like all your symptoms have gone down minus a small fever. You may feel a little sniffle-y for a few days, but a little smurfroot tea should take care of that."

"Thank you, Papa." Archer said gratefully.

"Don't thank me." Papa said. "Thank the Smurf that left that fire lily on my door."

"But dere aren't any in de forest." Gutsy protested.

Papa pondered the situation for a moment. "I don't know how it smurfed, but the important thing is that it worked. Our little Archer is going to be just fine." He ruffled Archer's hair affectionately. Archer giggled and tried to move away, but secretly she didn't mind. After such a scare from last night, she was thankful things were back to normal. "Come on." Papa said, helping Archer stand slowly. "You can ride in the sled when we go down to the tree."

"If there's anything left of it." Archer sighed sadly. She let Gutsy wrap a blanket around her shoulders as they walked downstairs and out the door. Gutsy pulled the sled Archer sat in as she snuggled under the blanket, still feeling a little sick. But when the three of them walked from Papa's house, they paused at the sound of someone singing Christmas carols. Papa smiled and chuckled, pulling out his bag of gifts for the Smurfs. As they walked to the square, Smurfette, Brainy, Clumsy, and Hefty joined their little group. And when they reached the spot where the festivities would begin, they all gasped in surprise.

A new tree stood tall and proud in the center of the circle. Decorations glittered in the cool sunshine. New wreaths hung on the lantern posts. New stockings hung above a roaring fire. A table with breakfast food was set up off to the side, and someone built a snowsmurf near the tree. Someone else was humming happily.

Archer laughed. "What the…..? Who did all this?"

Her answer came from around the back of the tree, holding a cake in his hands. "Well, well, look who's finally up."

"Grouchy?" Papa asked, a little surprised, as he set down his bag. "You did all this?"

"I even baked a fruitcake!" Grouchy announced, earning a gasp from his fellow Smurfs.

"He's lost it." Archer announced.

"No, I haven't." Grouchy insisted, trying to hide his overwhelming joy at seeing Archer alive and well. He set the fruitcake down on the table. "I just realized…I was wrong. Christmas isn't a time for hating. That's what all the other days are for. I was so busy focusing on what I wanted…that I didn't see the real gift….was having a family that cares…even though I'm grouchy."

"We _do _care about you." Smurfette assured.

"We were even going to smurf a new tree for you." Clumsy said. "But I guess you beat us there."

Grouchy remembered the trip he took with the Smurf of Christmas Future, and he held back a shudder. "Yeah, well…it can get pretty dangerous out in the forest."

"An' here I thought _Archer _was de protector of de Smurfs." Gutsy chuckled.

"No kidding." Hefty nodded. "Looks like you got some competition, Archer."

Archer raised an eyebrow and rolled her eyes, but blinked in surprise when Grouchy suddenly came up and hugged her. She hugged him back, faintly feeling him tremble. "Hey, they were just kidding you know."

"I know." Grouchy nodded, pulling away. "I just…..I don't think I've ever thought about how important you are to….the village…and to me…and how sad it would be if you got so sick that you died."

Archer blinked in surprise, unsure of how to respond. She didn't even know that Grouchy knew about her smurfmonia. "Hey, it'll take a lot more than that to smurf me off." She smiled comfortingly. "And it'll take more than a little fight to tear us apart."

Grouchy smiled, hugging Archer again. "Thanks, Archer. For everything." He looked around to everysmurf before finally settling his eyes on Papa. "I'm sorry I got so angry."

Papa chuckled, assuring Grouchy there were no hard feelings. He reached into his sack and pulled out a colorfully wrapped box. "Merry Christmas." He said, handing the box to Grouchy. "I know it's not the hang glider you always ask for, but I made it just for you."

"Thanks, Papa." Grouchy said, remembering what the Smurf of Christmas Present showed him. He opened the box and his eyes lit up. "A new hat!" With sincere happiness, he shed the hat he currently wore and put on his new one, smiling. _It's definitely not a hang glider. _Grouchy thought. _But as long as Papa made it, it's pretty special to me. _Grouchy looked down, a little nervous, and then suddenly wrapped his arms around Papa in a hug. Papa chuckled and returned it, happy to see his grouchiest Smurf had some spirits lifted. Grouchy suddenly remembered. "Oh!" He exclaimed, pulling away and lifting up the final surprise. He held it up for his family to see: a red and yellow striped star, made from his toy hang glider. "I made it for all of us." He said, climbing the ladder to the top of the tree. Papa and the others watched fondly, secretly hoping Grouchy didn't fall, and cheered when Grouchy put the star on top and called, "Merry Christmas, everyone!"

"He's got his spirit back." Hefty sighed.

"By my calculations," Brainy added with a smile. "I'd say you're right."

"Yeah." Smurfette nodded. "He's definitely changed for the smurfier."

Grouchy started climbing back down the ladder, excited to spend the day with his family. Then, something clicked in his head. "Hey, wait a minute. If Papa knew I wanted a hang glider…." He looked down to his father, who smiled broadly when Grouchy seemed to catch on.

"Remember!" Papa called from the ground. "It's _just _for _you_!"

Grouchy smiled. He grabbed the edges of his hat and jumped off the ladder. "Merry Christmas, everyone!" He shouted as his hat puffed up like a marshmallow and caused him to glide up in the air. _He remembered! He _really_ remembered! _Grouchy whooped and laughed as his hat glider swung him around the tree…and right into the snowsmurf.

Everysmurf gasped, a few of them wincing in sympathy. "Oh no." Papa groaned as they gathered around. _I hope this wasn't all for naught._

Grouchy growled as he sat up, his usual frown back on his face. "I hate snow! And I hate being cold! And I hate…..carrots? But most of all, I hate that Christmas…is only once a year!" They all laughed, singing carols around the tree and enjoying each other's company.

"Merry Christmas!" Papa called to his children, chuckling like Santa Claus.

_Merry Christmas, everyone. _Grouchy sighed.


End file.
